The Lady of Shalott-a constrained woman in an
unrequited romance
Presenters: Cara Huang
Michelle Chiu
Jane Chen
Jessie Wang
Joyce Chia
Outline
I. Alfred Tennyson Biography
II. Background/ Culture Introduction
III. Role Play
IV. Analysis
V. Video Sharing
VI. Discussion
VII. Quiz
VIII. Conclusion
Alfred Tennyson
• Born in 1809
• Lifelong fear of
mental or physical
illness
• 1833: the death of
Arthur Hallam
• 1842: Lost most of
his fortune
• Died in 1892
Background Introduction
Background (1)
• The second phase of Romanticism(18051830s)
• John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron
Interests in national history and folklore
• Sir Walter Scott—historical novels
• John Keats—the Robin Hood legends
• Tennyson— the tales of the Knights of the
Round Table
Background (2)
• One of the Arthurian legends—Sir
Lancelot
• Lady of Shalott
Elaine of Astolat
• "Lancelot and Elaine" from The Idylls of
the King (1859) by Alfred Tennyson
Name
“Lancelot “The Lady of
and Elaine”
Shalott”
Elaine
Unknown
Abode
Astolat
Ending of
Story
Dies of unrequited love for Sir
Lancelot and floats down the
river in a barge to Camelot
The archaic
“Shalott”
Background (3)—
Women in the Victorian Age
• Unmarried: virginal, embowered, passive,
awaiting the overtures of suitors
• Married: household management, the
rearing of children
• Good women
Fallen women
Background (4)—
Lady of Shalott: a constrained woman
• She strives for love, but she doesn’t
succeed, and she is only remembered for
being beautiful.
• “She has a lovely face” the orthodox
perception of women as the object of the
"masculine" gaze
Role Play: “The Lady of Shalott”
Analysis
PART I
Assonance
Iambic
On either side the river lie A
Long fields of barley and of rye, A
That clothe the wold and meet the sky; A
And through the field the road runs by A
To many-tower'd Camelot; B
And up and down the people go, C
Imagery
Gazing where the lilies blow C
Round an island there below, C Symbolism
The island of Shalott. B
Long vowels
The river flowing calmly
Short vowels
Trochaic
Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle embowers
The Lady of Shalott.
By the margin, willow-veil'd,
Short
vowels
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhailed
Trochaic
The shallop flitteth, silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot
Yet who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Iambic
Or is she know in all the land,
Long vowels
The Lady of Shalott?
Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to towered Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott."
Part II (1): The magic web
• The magic web
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
a constrained woman
while she seems to be in control, she's
obviously caught in someone else's web.
Part II (2): The magic web
Lines 37-41
• There she weaves by
night and day
A magic web with colours
gay.
• She has heard a whisper
say,
A curse is on her if she
stay
To look down to Camelot.
• 1. a boring and endless
chore, a symbol of
slavery and
imprisonment.
Part II (3): The magic web
Lines 64-70
• But in her web she still
delights
To weave the mirror's magic
sights,
For often through the
silent nights
A funeral, with plumes
and lights
And music, went to
Camelot:
Or when the moon was
overhead,
Came two young lovers
lately wed;
2. It could be a symbol of
creative freedom and
possibility
Part II (4): The magic web
Lines 64-70
But in her web she still
delights
To weave the mirror's
magic sights….
Lines 71-72
• "I am half sick of shadows,"
said
The Lady of Shalott.
•
Irony
She should be the webweaving predator, but instead
she turns out to be the prey of
some unseen, mysterious
force.
Part II (5): The mirror
Lines 46-50
• And moving through a
mirror clear
That hangs before her all
the year,
Shadows of the world
appear.
There she sees the
highway near
Winding down to
Camelot:
1. She had to look outside
through the mirror.
2. She couldn’t see the real
things but images.
3. Paradox
Part II (6): The mirror
• The Lady's talent is that she can turn the
sights of the mirror into an image in her
web. It's because of this that we might
think of the mirror and web as metaphors
for the life of the artist.
PART III
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She looked down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.
Arthurian
legends: Sir
Lancelot
versus
The Lady of
Shalott as a
constrained
woman
Part IV (1)
Autumn scene
In the stormy east-wind straining, A
The pale yellow woods were waning, A
The broad stream in his banks complaining, A
Heavily the low sky raining A
Over tower’d Camelot; B
Down she came and found a boat C
Beneath a willow left afloat, C
And round about the prow she wrote C
The Lady of Shalott. B
Part IV (2)
And down the river’s dim expanse A
Like some bold seër in a trance, A
Seeing all his own mischance— A
Dull; lifeless With a glassy countenance A
Did she look to Camelot. B
And at the closing of the day C
She loosed the chain, and down she lay; C
The broad stream bore her far away, C
The Lady of Shalott. B
Part IV (3)
Purity
Lying, robed in snowy white A
That loosely flew to left and right— A
The leaves upon her falling light— A
Thro’ the noises of the night A
She floated down to Camelot: B
And as the boat-head wound along C
The willowy hills and fields among, C
They heard her singing her last song, C
The Lady of Shalott. B
Part IV (4)
Death images
Heard a carol, mournful, holy, A
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, A
Till her blood was frozen slowly, A
And her eyes were darken’d wholly, A
Turn’d to tower’d Camelot. B
For ere she reach’d upon the tide C
The first house by the water-side, C
Singing in her song she died, C
The Lady of Shalott. B
transitional stanza, connecting the dying
woman's departure with the dead woman's
arrival at Camelot.
Part IV (5)
Under tower and balcony, A
By garden-wall and gallery, A
A gleaming shape she floated by, D
Dead-pale between the houses high, D
Silent into Camelot. B
Out upon the wharfs they came, C
Knight and burgher, lord and dame, C
And round the prow they read her name, C
The Lady of Shalott. B
Part IV (6)
Who is this? and what is here? A
And in the lighted palace near A
Died the sound of royal cheer; A
And they cross’d themselves for fear, A
All the knights at Camelot: B
But Lancelot mused a little space; C
He said, “She has a lovely face; C
God in his mercy lend her grace, C
The Lady of Shalott.” B
A Comparison:
the 1833 and 1842 version
The 1833 Version
They crossed themselves, their stars they blest,
Knight, minstrel, abbot, squire and guest.
There lay a parchment on her breast,
That puzzled more than all the rest,
The wellfed wits at Camelot.
"The web was woven curiously
(1) The local
The charm is broken utterly,
people
Draw near and fear not--this is I, (2) A quote from the
The Lady of Shalott."
Lady of Shalott
The 1842 Version
Who is this? and what is here? And in the
lighted palace near Died the sound of royal
cheer;
And they cross'd themselves for fear,
All the knights at Camelot:
But Lancelot mused a little space;
He said, "She has a lovely face;
(1) Sir Lancelot
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."
1833 versus 1842
“The revision brings the story around to the
person who unwittingly caused her death”
(Kelly).
Performance
“The Lady of Shalott”
Performance
• Songs:
(1)“The Lady of Shalott” (Loreena McKennit)
(2) “Shalott” (Emilie Autumn)
(3) “If I Died Young” (The Band Perry)
(4) “Lily Maid” (Heather Dale)
Performance
• Films:
(1)TV series Anne of Green Gables
(2) Short film of “The Lady of Shalott”
Relevance
Relevance (1)
• Korean drama “49 days”
• The main actress didn’t know he loved her
until she came back to the world as a
ghost.
The Little Mermaid
Do not
get love
Die for
love
Discussion (1)
Q1: What kind of effect does the repetition of
“Camelot” and “Shalott” in each stanza bring
about?
Discussion (2)
Q2: Do you have any examples of
unrequited love like The Lady of Shalott in
contemporary society?
* Definition: Unrequited love is a term that is used
when one person has strong feelings towards
another that are not reciprocated and even do not
know s/he is loved by that person.
Answers
• It’s hard to find such an example like The
Lady of Shalott.
• Why?
• 1. Unrequited love always ends with a
broken heart.
• 2. People in contemporary society are
encouraged to express love toward
another.
Conclusion
• Much of the poem’s charm stems from its
sense of mystery and elusiveness: many
interpretations of “Lady of Shalott”
• Focus: a constrained woman in unrequited
love
• “Lady of Shalott” is a popular poem of
Tennyson that becomes inspiring materials
of many works: romantic but tragical
Quiz
1) Why can’t the Lady of Shalott go out or
look out the window?
a. She is cursed.
b. She has demophobia.
c. There are no stairs in the tower.
d. She is waiting for Lancelot to save
her.
• 2) How does the Lady of Shalott get to
know about the world?
a. She has maids to tell her everything.
b. She sees the world through a mirror.
c. She has the ability to foretell the future.
d. She sees the world through the
reflection of the river outside the tower.
3) What/Who is Camelot?
a. It is biologically related to llamas.
b. It is not mentioned in the poem.
c. It is the dwelling place of King Arthur.
d. He is the half brother of Sir Lancelot.
• 4) Why did the Lady of Shalott die?
a. She was drowned in the river.
b. She was died of heart attack.
c. She grieved to death.
d. Her blood froze as she sang.
• 5) What did Sir Lancelot say when he saw
the Lady of Shalott’s dead body?
a. “Alas! What a loss!”
b. “She has a lovey face.”
c. “We’re all going.”
d. “Who is this lady?”
Works Cited
• Cummings, Michael. “The Lady of Shalott A Study Guide”. Cummings
Study Guide. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <
http/www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides8/Shalott.html >.
• “The Lady of Shalott”. SparkNotes. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson/section2.rhtml>.
• “The Lady of Shalott”. Shmoop. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <
http://www.shmoop.com/lady-of-shalott/symbolism-imagery.html>.
• “The Lady of Shalott”. ENotes. Web. 17 Dec 2012. <
http://www.enotes.com/lady-shalott/themes>.